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Most people have very passionate opinions when it comes to lemon desserts – they either love them or hate them. I’m on the love side since I don’t really gravitate towards super sweet desserts. Instead, I tend to lean towards tart and delicately sweet flavors, so lemon suits me just fine. Plus my favorite cocktail of all time is a vodka soda with lemon juice NOT lime – easy on the waistline, tasty, and especially refreshing in the summertime.
My refrigerator is always overflowing with lemons since I generally use them on a daily basis. Whether it’s in a simple salad dressing, a quick pan sauce, my cocktail of choice, or to add a nice fresh kick of acid to finish off dinner, a lemon is almost always something I blindly reach for. In my dream home, I picture a huge yard with an abundance of lemon trees and see myself dreamily plucking them from the branches everyday in the early morning – although the climate here in Kansas may not be conducive to lemon tree growing, let’s just pretend it is for now, k?
This weekend seemed like the perfect time to finally break out the lemon desserts since it was absolutely wonderful weather. There’s something about the sunshine and warmth on my face that makes me crave citrus and bright colorful looking food. Since I realize (as mentioned before) that some people may have a love/hate relationship with lemons, I wanted to make something that was lemony but didn’t scare any timid lemon skeptics away – something that could be light and used in a variety of ways that didn’t scream lemon….
Enter: lemon curd.
On it’s own it can shock your face into a sour pucker, but paired with a few selected items it can be sweet and tart but not overpowering in the least. I also love the fact that it takes less than twenty minutes to put together – that’s always a winner in my book.
Here are some of my favorite ways to utilize this luscious curd:
Dollop on sweet biscuits with butter and blueberry jam.
Spread in between layers of plain white cake
Swirl into homemade vanilla ice cream
Mix into Greek yogurt for a citrusy snack
Or stayed tuned for Wednesday’s Coconut Cupcakes with Lemon Curd, Whipped Cream and Toasted Coconut – a lemony sweet treat you’re bound to love…
- 4 egg yolks
- ¾ cup sugar
- 1 teaspoon lemon zest
- Juice of two large lemons, (scant ⅓ cup juice) strained of seeds and pulp
- 3 ½ tablespoons butter, cut into half tablespoons
- pinch of salt
- Whisk yolks, sugar, lemon zest and juice in the bottom of a heat-proof bowl. Fill a medium saucepan up with water, ¼ full. Bring water to a simmer and place bowl with lemon mixture over. Stir constantly with a wooden soon until the mixture thickens, about 8-10 minutes. Be sure to keep the heat low enough to keep the eggs from curdling. Once the mixture has thickened, remove from heat, add butter half a tablespoon at a time until all is incorporated. Season with a pinch of salt. Cool and store in an airtight container in the fridge.
Dina says
i love making lemon curd tarts and it would be nice to make my own curd!
Nicole says
It’s super easy, you should give it a go!
Amy Biddle says
Your blog is absolutely amazing! I can’t wait to attempt some of these recipes. So glad it popped up on my FB feed. Hope all is well 🙂
Nicole says
Thank you so much Amy! Hope all is well with you too! Your little one is adorable 🙂
Rosie @ Blueberry Kitchen says
I absolutely love lemon desserts, your lemon curd looks so delicious!
Nicole says
Thanks Rosie!
Michele says
Just made the lemon curd! So easy and so good!
Barb says
I made your recipe, but just could not seem to get it to thicken (my fault, I know). Then I saw a recipe on another website for making it in the microwave. This sounded particularly scary and I was sure it would curdle. But, I put it in the microwave on high and did it for only 15-30 seconds at a time. I was then able to get it to thicken properly and it did not curdle and the eggs did not cook separately. It is just delicious, and I think I will use your recipe again, but cook it in the microwave. It does require adding the butter up front, and melted. Thought you might like to know about my unorthodox method that turned a mistake into a wonderful thing! So happy I found your website! I am using several recipes for a bridal shower.
Nicole says
Hmmm that’s strange! Mine was even thicker than a normal curd since it needed to be durable enough to stay on the cupcake. Maybe the temperature of your water wasn’t hot enough?? Let me know if you try it out again and it still doesn’t work!
Marie says
I’ve also made it in the microwave and it turns out perfect. I do stop and stir frequently to prevent eggs curdling Easy to make
Nicole says
Oh, I love that you’ve made it in the microwave! I need to try that!
Rose says
After looking through so many lemon curd recipes I came across this one! going to try this today, will let you know how it goes 🙂
ASHLEY says
Just made this, it’s amazing! I had the same issue though as another commenter that it didn’t thicken much using the double broiler. After about 12 min I just transferred to a sauce pot and finished directly on the stove at med heat for about 8 min. It turned out great! I’m going to try this curd recipe with other citrus too. I bet lime would be amazing!
Michele says
Made the lemon curd again. So easy!
amy b says
I just finished making this for a filling for my lemon cupcakes. It was super easy. I didn’t have have a heat safe bowl so I used 2 pans and it came out awesome!!!
Nicole says
Awesome! So glad you liked it!!
Stephanie says
this recipe was super easy and i love the taste. i plan on making it again.i added a 1/2 cup of lemon juice instead and it still turned out to be really good. it just had it cook a little longer.